Page 59 of Raising Love
She looked ethereal in that moment—her eyes blinking rapidly before rolling back, her body tensing, her walls tightening around me. Her release came like a wave, her grip on the pillow, gradually slackening as her body surrendered completely.
The sight and feel of her coming pushed me to my limit. I hooked my forearm behind her knee, shifting my angle as I began thrusting with more urgency. My body moved instinctively, taking over as I lost myself in the moment.
She clung to my back next, her nails digging into my lower back, her breathless cries filling the room.
“Oh my God,” she moaned, her voice breaking. “Fuck, Leo. Fuck!”
“Fuck,” I echoed, groaning uncontrollably. My voice trembled as I buried myself deeper, holding that position. My body shuddering like crazy.
I collapsed onto her, both of us utterly spent. Our bodies stayed joined, neither of us moving, our breaths mingling in the quiet aftermath.
And just like last time, we didn’t say a word.
Shit.
And much like the last time, I found myself hoping we wouldn’t say anything about this time either.
FOURTEEN
ivy
“Hey, Ivy.”
“Hey, Mommy,” I replied. “What’s up?”
Yes, I still called my mother Mommy, something my girl Kendra used to tease me about all the time. To me, I was going to be a big kid indefinitely, so calling my mother the name I’ve been using since I learned to speak came naturally.
“How are you?” she asked on the other end of the line.
I was in my bedroom in Greene Gardens, my eyes fixed on the ceiling, my mind somewhere in outer space.
“Positive answer?” I asked. “Grateful for life. Honest answer? Hanging on by a frayed thread that’s about two seconds from popping.”
These past few days had been unnecessarily stressful.
“The baby, again?”
“Hmph,” I huffed. “Believe it or not, that’s the easiest thing I’m dealing with these days.”
There was silence for a moment before she asked, “Are you gonna tell me what’s troubling you?”
I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut. “It’s not something I’m comfortable sharing.”
Because how do you broach the subject of hooking up with a friend when you should be focused on taking care of a baby… a baby you never asked for?
I grunted, turning over and pressing my face into my pillow.
“God doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle,” she said over speaker. “You know that, right, Ivy?”
“I know, Mommy,” I mumbled into the pillow.
“So, while you may think what you’re dealing with—whatever you’re dealing with—is too much, it’s exactly what is needed to bring you closer to Him.”
My mother was a very religious woman. Yet another reason I didn’t want to share what was really on my mind.
Leo. Sex with Leo, specifically.
“Anyway,” she added, “I just called to check in on you. You know my door is always open, and I haven’t seen you since you moved out there. So stop by sometime, please.”
